May 18, 2020

Fritz 6

Monday

Now that the “tie coat” primer had had the weekend to cure, I could lightly sand it to prepare the centerboard trunk repairs for the next step, which was an overall coat of one-part primer to cover the entire trunk and repair area.

After a light sanding to the patch at the old through hull location, I applied a coat of epoxy fairing material, keeping the work as contained as possible. The old eyebolt hole at the stem was basically fair and ready for paint whenever the larger through hull repair was ready.

Next, I continued work on the brass rubstrip, this time on the starboard side. As before, I laid out a strip of tape onto which I marked existing screw (and broken stud) locations, then secured my flexible tape measure in place so I could locate all the new fasteners accordingly. Fortunately, with only a minor manipulation here and there, the new spacing worked out well to avoid all the existing screws.

Using temporary clamps as loose guides through which to thread the recalcitrant rubstrip, I taped the metal in place along the rubrail as needed, keeping the forward end aligned with its counterpart to port. Then, for each screw location, I went through the 5-step process to install the fasteners: center punch; pilot hole; larger pilot hole for the screw shank; countersink; and finally install the #6 x 1/2″ oval head bronze screw (Freason).

Working my way down the boat, I secured the new rail, adding a short length as needed to reach the corner of the transom.

Then, I repeated the layout and installation process for the final length of rubstrip across the transom itself.

The epoxy I’d used to fill the old fastener holes at the lower gudgeon location had had ample cure time, and now I used the new gudgeon to lay out for its fastener holes, keeping the outline of the gudgeon itself aligned with the shadow of its predecessor. Since there was no access within, I used bronze screws to secure the lower gudgeon in place with lots of sealant. For the top gudgeon, I secured it with more sealant and two 1/4″ x 2″ bolts through the transom, since the inside was accessible for nuts and washers.

All that remained to complete the project was to finalize the paint coatings on the repaired centerboard trunk and other minor repairs in the hull, which I’d complete over the next few days as necessary.